Last year when Republicans did the same, Obama named them anyway. This ruling invalidates Obama's appointments.(Source- The Hill) [End Update]

A federal appeals court has ruled that Barack Obama abused his powers when he made recess appointments last year when the Senate was technically not in recess, making those appointments unconstitutional and illegal.

President Barack Obama
violated the Constitution when he bypassed the Senate to fill vacancies
on a labor relations panel, a federal appeals court panel ruled Friday.

A
three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
said that Obama did not have the power to make three recess appointments
last year to the National Labor Relations Board.

The
unanimous decision is an embarrassing setback for the president, who
made the appointments after Senate Republicans spent months blocking his
choices for an agency they contended was biased in favor of unions.

The
ruling also throws into question Obama's recess appointment of Richard
Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Cordray's
appointment, also made under the recess circumstance, has been
challenged in a separate case.

But
the ruling has even broader constitutional significance, with the
judges arguing that the president’s recess appointment powers don’t
apply to “intrasession” appointments — those made when Congress has left town for a few days or weeks.

The judges signaled the power only applies after Congress
has adjourned sine die, which is a legislative term of art that
signals the end to a long work period. In modern times, it means the
president could only use his powers when Congress quits business at the end of a year.

“The
dearth of intrasession appointments in the years and decades following
the ratification of the Constitution speaks far more impressively than
the history of recent presidential exercise of a supposed power to
make such appointments,” the judges wrote.

“Recent presidents are
doing no more than interpreting the Constitution. While we recognize
that all branches of government must of necessity exercise their
understanding of the Constitution in order to perform their duties
faithfully thereto, ultimately it is our role to discern the
authoritative meaning of the supreme law.”

The case is likely to end up before the Supreme Court, and it turns on the definition of what the Constitution means when it says “recess.”

To put it bluntly, Obama just got his ass handed to him.

[Update] Some great analysis from Hot Air over this decision and the possible future ramifications.